Start of the Mushroom Season

Yesterday I went with one of my friends foraging for mushrooms in the local pine forests**. We found our first Saffron Milkcap mushrooms for the year. It looks like their season are just starting so we will go back again soon to see how they are progressing.

Saffron Milkcap mushrooms showing their characteristic orange ‘milk’ where they have been cut on the stems.

Slippery Jack mushrooms were everywhere. While these mushrooms aren’t generally considered to be the greatest fresh eating mushroom around, I find it worthwhile collecting and de-hydrating them to be added to soups and stews through the winter months to round out their flavour.

The super gelatinous top gives Slippery Jacks their name. You can also see the spongy yellow underneath of the cap.

We split our haul so there was only enough Saffron Milkcaps for one meal. I found a good selection of recipes at the website of the Forager Chef, aka Alan Bergo. I decided to go with his Catalan style Saffron Milkcaps with chorizo. It was also good that apart from the chorizo, the other key ingredients tomato, garlic and parsley all came from our garden.

**Please do not go foraging for mushrooms unless you have had suitable training in identifying edible species. In the recent years several people in Canberra have died due to eating mis-identified mushrooms.